Bridge hopes Tranmere showing can help his Cobblers career take off

Cobblers midfielder Jack Bridge hopes his impressive display against Tranmere Rovers on Saturday will help his cause to become a regular in Dean Austin’s team this season.

The 22-year-old had to make do with a place on the bench for the first few weeks of the season, playing just 22 minutes of their opening four league fixtures in addition to starting the League Cup tie at Wycombe.

Bridge also struggled to establish himself after signing for the club in January, rarely even seen in the squad, but he’s started their past two league fixtures against Colchester United and Tranmere.

The wide midfielder performed well in both games, particularly on Saturday when he was central to most of Town’s good play against Tranmere - exemplified by their equaliser on 61 minutes as he showed composure and vision to pick out goalscorer Junior Morias.

“It was a good goal from the team,” said Bridge afterwards. “Crooksy got the ball to me and then Junior took the goal very well.

“It’s pleasing to be starting more games because I just want to be playing football. I wasn’t playing enough at Southend and that was the main reason for leaving.

“I came here and it didn’t quite happen straightaway but at the moment it’s nice to be starting and getting the minutes in, it’s really good.”

Despite Bridge’s best efforts, however, the Cobblers saw another two points slip away as James Norwood’s goal helped Tranmere earn a 1-1 draw.

“It’s two points dropped,” admitted Bridge. “With the chances we created and the performance we had, we definitely feel we should have won the game.

“Home form is not something that’s in the players’ heads or anything like that. The performances are there and we’re creating more than enough - we’ve just got to put them away to start winning games.

“For us as a team, I think we’ve just got to stick at it and keep doing what we’re doing because we’re doing it well and eventually things will come good for us.”